KNOXVILLE - Derek Barnett and Josh Malone were part of Tennessee's 2014 signing class, the star-studded haul needed to get the Volunteers back to competitiveness in the SEC and relevance nationally.
Now the two midstate residents are joining Alvin Kamara as Tennessee's early entrants into the NFL draft.
Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett (9) is seen during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, in Knoxville, Tenn. Alabama won 49-10. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)Barnett, the All-America defensive end who broke Reggie White's program record for career sacks with his 33rd in the Music City Bowl win against Nebraska, and Malone, the former five-star recruit who just completed a 972-yard, 11-touchdown breakout season, both announced Tuesday they will forgo their final seasons at Tennessee and turn pro.
"It was a family decision," Barnett said on a conference call Tuesday evening. "We decided it was the best thing to do right now. It was a hard decision to make, but we thought it was the right one. I think we leave the program at a great place.
"Obviously this year we finished out with a win, but our season didn't go the way we wanted it to. We finished off with a lot of momentum going forward. There's a lot of great coaches up there on the staff, and I know they're going to continue with the momentum into next year as well."
Though it's long been expected Barnett would leave for the NFL, he insisted during the weeks leading up to the bowl game he hadn't yet made an official decision. He indicated after the bowl that he was going to sit down and talk with his family about what he would do.
As a projected first-round pick, Barnett didn't really have a decision to make.
"When it got closer to the end of the season, I had a good idea I was going to (turn pro)," Barnett said, "but I didn't want to say anything during the season or while we were still having games, just because I wanted our focus to be on winning and not me. I didn't want to take any distraction away from the team or cause any issues.
"I just wanted to keep it on the low as much as possible."
Malone caught five passes for 120 yards and a key fourth-quarter 59-yard touchdown against Nebraska to complete a junior season in which he caught 50 passes for 972 yards and 11 touchdowns, the most scoring receptions in a single season by a Tennessee receiver since Robert Meachem caught in 11 in 2006.
"It was a real special thing for me to hit double digits," Malone said after a mid-December practice, "because I know how hard that is, especially in college football and especially at Tennessee, when you look at the names of the wide receivers that hit double digits at Tennessee. Just to be up there with those names is an honor.
"It's just real special for me, and it was a lot of hard work to get there."
After recording just one game of 80-plus receiving yards - a 103-yard performance at Kentucky in 2015 - in his first two seasons, Malone had six games of at least 81 yards this season, including each of the final four games. Among SEC wide receivers, he ranked 10th in receptions, third in yards and touchdown catches and second in yards per catch with a 19.4-yard average.
Malone is projected as mid- or late-round draft pick, but his stock after next season likely won't be as high as it is now with Tennessee breaking in a new quarterback and operating under a new offensive coordinator.
"I just made a lot of progress throughout my career, too," he said, "to the point where I'm at now."
Barnett is the first player in SEC history to have double-digit sacks in three consecutive seasons, and all but four of his 33 career sacks came in conference games.
This season Barnett became the first Vol since Eric Berry in 2009 to be a unanimous All-American as he recorded 56 tackles, 19 for loss, 13 sacks, 16 quarterback hurries, two forced fumbles and an interception during his junior season.
Soon he'll be chasing NFL quarterbacks with the same relentlessness he showed in three seasons with the Vols.
"I'd say all the wins are my favorite moments, but I think this weekend, it'll be a moment I'll never forget," he said. "I was back home in my hometown and I broke that record. I got to celebrate with my teammates. How they all swarmed me and stuff, it was a great feeling. It was something I'll probably never forget for the rest of my life."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.